A Gambit in Trust
by Dreyden
Summary: AU from season two's "The Cricket Game." What if using magic to see Pongo's memories was just one step too far for Emma? Deciding to go with her instincts rather than magical evidence, Emma confronts Regina without having already condemned the former mayor as guilty. A single leap of faith could alter the course of events for ever. Slow burn Swan Queen featuring Snowing & Rumbelle.


**A/N**: Hello all and welcome to another one of my forays into the wonderful world of fanfic! This time I've found myself in love with the show Once Upon A Time. In particular, I love the dynamic between Emma Swan and Regina Mills, and I fully intend to explore that dynamic through a divergent storyline starting during "The Cricket Game." Basically, this story explores the idea that after a week of her life getting turned upside down and inside out by the reveal of magic _actually_ existing, Emma reaches a limit and decides to just go with her gut. A small change at the start that will hopefully lead to a wonderful journey through this world created by Adam and Eddie.

Ships - Snowing, Rumbelle, very, very slow burn Swan Queen. Others will be decided as we go along.

On a sidenote, I'm also just super happy I got involved with a fandom that's actually still ongoing!

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**A Gambit in Trust**

**Chapter 01**

**Sheriff Swan**

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Emma Swan had no idea what the hell she was doing.

"You have to _will _it," Gold's words echoed in her ear as the ends of her fingers tingled with the hushed promise of energy ready to burst forth. With no other instruction - and the logic side of her brain just about fried after the past few weeks' descent into magical curse-induced insanity – Emma just went with it.

_Show me_, her thought was stern, commanding. With a gasp, Emma's eyes snapped open as she felt the built up energy _slither_ from her fingers into the dreamcatcher. The golden glow solidified into a clear image, but the exhilaration performing the magic created disappeared just as her mind caught up to the fact she was watching a _dog's_ memories played back in a god damned magic dreamcatcher.

"There's Regina," Mary Margaret muttered. Emma felt the woman shuffle closer, but her focus was on the image of Regina striding across Archie's office. The woman's face was devoid of emotion, and Emma frowned, then cringed as Regina lifted Archie off the ground by the neck with a single hand. She wanted to turn away as the therapist struggled in the mayor's grasp, his movements jerky and pointless; and as the image of Regina dropped Archie's lifeless form, Emma let the dreamcatcher slip through her fingers.

Pongo yelped in protest as it bounced off his head, but nobody else made a sound.

Emma let out a haggard breath, eyes forward but unseeing. She had been _sure_ Regina had not lied, and the mayor never managed to get past her well-developed lie detector before. It just did not make _sense_.

Nothing seemed to, since fairytales came to life.

She knew that she should feel furious – enough to rush and face Regina down for lying to her and betraying Henry's trust - but nothing but an overwhelming numbness with a tinge of nausea dominated her senses.

"Well," Gold drawled, leaning on his cane while his constant almost-grin tugged at his lips. "I suppose that makes it clear." Mary Margaret let out a haggard sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose while shaking her head. David's jaw clenched, his hand wrapped so tight around the pommel of his sword that his knuckles shone white.

"We've given her too many chances," Mary Margaret's voice came out low and harsh; sounding halfway between tears and fury. "And now Archie's paid the price. She has to be _stopped_."

The sick feeling in Emma's gut increased tenfold as the words left her mother's mouth. Images of Henry's earnest face when he claimed Regina was trying to be a better person and Regina's subtle despair at hearing about Archie's death flashed through her mind. _Archie's_ repeated assurance that Regina was really, truly trying to be a better person – the last words the therapist had spoken to her about his would be murderer – had been so confident.

None of it matched up to the image she had just fucking _conjured out of a dog's head_. A dull pain throbbed at her temples as her brain worked in overdrive to unravel the tangle of weird shit life had thrown at her in the last few weeks.

Pongo whined, laying down across a bemused Gold's feet, and stared at them with the depth of sadness only animals achieved.

"You're right," David's soft-spoken words held no less conviction than his wife's. "I'll go get Leroy to round-up the dwarves and get Blue's help. We'll have to take her by surprise." Mary Margaret gave a sharp nod, not meeting her husband's eyes. David took a step toward the door, and something in Emma's mind snapped.

"Wait," the word came out strangled, but it froze David in place. She met each of her parents' eyes in turn, and judging by the sudden onslaught of pity that crossed their faces, she must have looked as shaken as she felt. "I'm not going to let us condemn a woman to death with just _this_ as evidence."

"Emma," Mary Margaret took a step toward her, but Emma took one back. Hurt flashed across the schoolteacher's, but Emma ignored the brief flare of guilt among the torrent of warring emotions in her head. "You saw the same thing we did."

"It's not what we saw, it's _how_ we saw it." Emma waved a hand at the depressed dalmatian. "All of this is just…" She trailed off, the word 'insane' echoing in her head. She shook her head. "I just….I just _can't_." She urged her parents to understand, but the Charming couple stood unmoved, wearing expressions of mixed pity and wariness that did little to calm Emma down.

"As intriguing as watching this little family drama is…" Emma's head snapped back to Gold - the bastard _did_ look thoroughly entertained – and resisted the urge to punch the smug off his face. "I would appreciate it if it happened _away_ from my shop. Some of us have more important things to take care of today." He glanced toward Belle – silent since coming to Gold's defense – and the librarian's lips rose into a pleased grin.

"Fine," Emma bit out the word and strode from the shop, door slamming behind her. Without a plan to speak of, without knowing what she believed about the turn towards insanity that this case and her life decided to take, Emma let her instincts guide her, and found her footfalls turn toward Mifflin Street.

Regina was either lying or being set up by someone with just as much skill with magic as the Evil Queen. Emma's pulse pounded in her ears as she picked up her pace, heart racing. She needed the truth, she needed it to make _sense_, and there was only one person that she could get that from at the moment.

"Emma!" A hand wrapped around her upper right arm with a powerful grasp, yanking her to a halt and spinning her around. Emma's hand was halfway to her gun before she recognized David's flushed features; his shoulders heaving with labored breaths and eyes full of worry. "What are you doing?"

"Getting to the bottom of this." She jerked her shoulder out of his grasp and ignored the flash of hurt that crossed his features. "One way or another."

"We already have, Emma." David sighed with a slight shake of his head. "I know you want to believe in Regina for Henry's sake, but that woman is too far gone."

"I don't believe that," Emma shook her head. "Isn't there like a hero's law or something that says nobody is beyond redemption?"

"Hero's law?" David's eyebrows quirked and he smiled for the first time that afternoon. "Is that from one of Henry's books?"

"Doesn't matter," Emma muttered, turning away from her father's amused eyes. "All I know is that something here doesn't _feel_ right. Me using magic? I have no idea how I did," she waved her hand in the vague direction of Gold's shop. "_Whatever_ that was in there." David looked like he swallowed something sour, and a sudden rush of insecurity flitted through her.

Wondering how her parents would react to her magic had not even crossed her mind until that moment.

"I don't have the answers, Emma. I wish I did." David's grimace softened into a frown, worry lining his features. "But I know what Regina is capable of, and I'm not letting you go there alone." Emma allowed a tight smile – touched and annoyed at the same time. She was a walking contradiction lately.

"It's best if I do." David blinked, and opened his to retort, but Emma continued before he could. "If we all swarm her front door, she's going to get defensive. We don't want to back her inter a corner."

"Emma—"

"She won't do anything to me." If there was anything she was sure about this day, it was that. "She wants Henry in her life too badly for that."

"And you think that makes you safe? She killed Archie, what makes you-"

"_If_ she killed Archie," Emma corrected with heat in her tone. David's stance relaxed almost at once. "Then she will still be trying to play innocent. And if she _didn't, _then there's nothing to be worried about." David ran a hand over his face, shaking his head.

"I don't like this." Emma could have laughed.

"Yeah, I got that." David studied her for a moment longer before sighing, turning his gaze skyward, and mouthing either a silent prayer or a string of curses – Emma could not tell which. When his eyes dropped back down to her, he looked resigned.

"Snow's getting Blue. It won't take more than twenty minutes to get the plan in place. If we don't hear from you…"

"You'll come in, fairy dust blazing." Emma grimaced against both the ludicrousness of the words that left her mouth as well as the idea of being stuck between the Blue Fairy and what would be a _furious_ Evil Queen. David gave a grim nod, and Emma spun on her heels and ran before he could change his mind and waste more time.

She had a maybe-reformed Evil Queen to interrogate to get to the bottom of a murder surrounded on all sides by magic; with less than twenty minutes until her mother and the Blue Fairy would blow the situation up so badly it would not _matter_ if Regina was guilty or not.

No, no pressure at all.

By the time she reached the mayoral manor, her breath was coming in short bursts. Her first pounded against the door, not bothering to gather herself. Silence followed her knocking for several dreadful seconds before Emma heard the telltale click-clack of Regina's heels against the wood floor.

The door pulled opened and Regina stepped through the threshold, looking as composed as ever in her business professional attire, not a hair out of place. Only the slight lift in her eyebrows gave away her surprise.

"Sherriff Swan," she stated, deadpan. "I assume you're here to apologize." Emma wrung her hands and could not quite meet the mayor's eyes. Real or not, seeing the image of Regina strangling the life out of Archie left a lasting mark on her psyche.

"Not exactly." Regina froze for a half a second before her arms crossed and a frown tugged her lips downward. Emma took a breath and pressed forward, no clear plan in her head. "We found a new witness..." Regina's frown deepened.

"And who else is condemning me today?" Her voice was _almost_ light and uncaring.

Emma grimaced before answering. "Pongo." Regina blinked, jaw dropping a fraction of an inch before she replied.

"Pongo," the other woman deadpanned. "The dalmatian."

"The dalmatian." Emma confirmed. It should have irked her that this entire discussion was ludicrous, but her bullshit meter was spent. "We saw his memories."

"How?" Regina demanded at once, posture going rigid. Emma took a moment before replying, unsure how to proceed with any semblance of tact.

"Magic." Regina let out a breathy, humorless laugh.

"And who performed this magic, Gold?" Regina sneered. "Why would you trust anything he did when he is probably the one behind this?"

Emma tried to hide her grimace, but by the way Regina's face fell, she was unsuccessful. "It wasn't Gold." She took a breath. "I did the magic…"

"You have magic…?" Regina looked flabbergasted at that moment, but Emma could see the gears working behind the brunette's eyes. "The savior, of course." Regina shook her head, frowning. "What did you do?"

Emma shrugged. "There was a dreamcatcher, a headache, and a depressed dalmatian," Emma half joked. "Long story short, Pongo saw you kill Archie."

"Impossible," Regina replied, eyes downcast and darting back and forth. Emma frowned as the former Evil Queen was clearly trying to find a solution to the problem.

"I don't really know how I did it," Emma allowed, "But I know what Pongo saw." Regina shuffled backwards, head snapping back up to attention, and hands coming up in either a placating or defensive gesture. Emma stared into Regina's sharp brown eyes with all her might. If the former mayor lied, she had to _see_ it this time. "Can you explain this one, your majesty?"

"Forgery," Regina bit out the word. "A false memory implanted into the beast."

"How?" Emma frowned, studying the other woman. Every bit of body language coming from Regina screamed defensive and desperate. Emma could not pinpoint if that was from guilt or fear.

"How else?" Regina smiled, toothy and sardonic. "Magic."

Emma pressed her palm to her forehead and pinched her eyes shut. She was _tired_ of going around in circles just because magic had to go and become real. "And who would think to put memories into a _dog? _Who _could_?" She dropped her hand and refocused on the brunette in front of her. "Only you, Gold, and Mother Superior are strong enough to do anything other than parlor tricks, and Blue doesn't have a motive."

Regina looked offended. "She's been trying to have me killed for decades." Regina sniffed, disdain clear in her tone. "Never had the courage to try it herself."

"She wouldn't kill anyone for it," Emma said, and Regina let out a quiet snort of disbelief. Emma grit her teeth, trying not to let her aggravation show. "And Gold was with Belle all night." The last was a lie, but Gold had been Regina's consistent go-to excuse…

"And what's _my_ motive?" Regina's hands balled into fists, her knuckles white, her nostrils flared, and the brown of her eyes disappeared against dilated pupils. Emma's fight or flight response kicked in and she drew herself up to her full height. "What would push me to kill a man when I know doing _anything_ but toeing the line will make me lose my son?"

"Ruby saw you arguing with Archie on the docks the day he was killed." Emma repeated the only _real_ evidence they had on Regina. Just like two days ago, Regina snapped off an uncaring reply.

"If you haven't noticed," Regina's voice was heavy with sarcasm. "I do nothing but argue with anyone anymore."

"Regina," Emma implored, not in the mood to give any ground. That answer had worked yesterday, but it was not enough anymore. Regina clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, but gave in.

"He betrayed my trust." The woman's arms crossed again. "He told _you _about my sessions when he had no right. I was justifiably angry." Emma raised an eyebrow. "_Not_ angry enough to kill."

"He was just trying to help you," Emma said, defending the man as she had two nights before.

"By spilling my secrets for the world to hear." Regina's voice was rigid.

"By _confiding_ in me that you were getting help. You should have thanked-"

"It was not his business to share!" Regina took a step forward, invading Emma's personal space. For a moment Emma was almost nostalgic for the confrontations from before the curse broke, but she shelved the feeling while the angry, upset mayor lost her composure. She tensed her muscles, ready to lash out if Regina attacked. "So tell me _exactly_ why I should be thankful?"

Regina stopped her advance, eyes glaring into Emma's own – daring her to come up with a response. Emma did not hesitate. "Because if Archie never said anything to me, I would have already arrested you by now." Regina blinked once, twice, and faltered - taking a step back with a hollow laugh.

"It's ironic," Regina said. The heat had left her, leaving nothing but bitterness. "That I've spent the last two weeks avoiding casting even the simplest spell to prove I've changed. Yet, it's _you_ performing magic that damn near condemns me. Tell me Sheriff, how will you explain to my son how you justified using magic to judge me guilty?" Emma's stomach twisted in a nasty surge of guilt. "Because I would _love_ to see you talk your—"

"Enough," Emma interrupted. She glanced at her watch and her sense of urgency was renewed. Her mother and Mother Superior were already past due. They could not have much time. "I haven't put you in handcuffs yet, have I?" Regina frowned and stared at her like she was puzzling something out. Emma took a breath to steady herself. "I need you to look me in the eye and tell me the truth."

Emma through every one of her instincts into studying Regina as she spoke without hesitation. "I had nothing to do with Archie's death." At this point, Regina sounded nothing but tired, and Emma's hazel eyes searched Regina's brown for any sign of deception or anxiety.

There was none.

Emma let out a ragged breath. Nothing had changed from the previous day; every one of her instincts shouted at her that Regina was telling her truth.

"Okay," Emma breathed out the word before nodding as her mind raced. "Okay," she repeated, more assured. Regina looked surprised, shoulders sagging just the slightest bit in relief, for just a single moment before the former mayor composed herself. "Now we just need to figure out how someone's framing you."

"Obviously through magic," Regina said – still tired, but with a hint of energy returning to her – "But other than forging the dog's memories or shape-shifting, I don't… Sheriff?"

Emma could have smacked herself.

Emma's eyes glazed over as that one word had the entire situation crystallize in her mind. The Enchanted Forest, a devastated stronghold, mind control, a hand _inside _her chest, and – most vividly - _Lancelot morphing into another person_. The memories of her week in hell came flooding back and she felt like the world's biggest fool.

Because if Emma and Mary Margaret could find a way to cheat a portal to Storybrooke into existence, why couldn't _she_?

"Sheriff?" Regina repeated, a slight note of urgency playing at the edge of her tone. Emma snapped out of her own head and refocused on the woman before her, lips set into a grim line.

"Cora." Weeks ago Emma would have marveled at how one word from her could cause Regina to stagger backward, face draining of color. Now the effect only served to fuel her growing panic. This problem was supposed to be over, taken care of, left in another realm to stew in her own failure. Instead, Emma had no doubt that Regina's mother managed to follow them to Storybrooke, apparently intent on making her daughter's life a living hell.

Magic was such bullshit.

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A/N: Short, but hopefully sweet. While I'm writing this story I also wanted to try out a different type of chapter length and format. 3-4k words should be the typical length, and I'm going to try GRRM-style chapters throughout. So that means each chapter will be told from a single _limited_ point of view. I hope that it'll keep things interesting.

Anyway, did it ever irk anyone else by just how little time passes through season 2 and the beginning of season 3? Seriously, we never stop to take a breath from the curse breaking, to Emma and Snow getting thrown into FTL, to them getting back and the Cora shenanigans, to the Tamara/Greg stuff, and finally to Neverland.I mean, it can't have been more than a couple months at most.

In any case, I've out lined this story a fair bit, and we'll at least get through the Neverland plot, but each chapter will take us further and further from canon, so expect new twists and turns along the way!

And please leave a review if you have a spare moment! I'd love to hear how well or terribly you think I've captured the characters here. Both Emma and Regina have a bit more nuance to them than characters I'm used to writing, so I'm looking to improve.

Until next time!


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